July 2018, Vol. 245, No. 7

In the lifetime of oil and gas pipelines there are numerous events that could pose the potential of an explosion hazard. In case of air purging, flammable mixtures are created in pipelines in an uncontrolled manner. This article covers basic flammability and inerting principles and applications of mobile nitrogen unit technology has been proven safer than air purging while maintaining high operational flexibility.

After years of halting progress, an agreement to sell natural gas from offshore Israel to Egypt is bolstering the region’s bid to transform itself into a sizable source of gas production, and potentially, exports.

The position of measurement technician is one of the most important roles in the transmission pipeline operation. This article discusses those requirements and the knowledge and skills that a measurement technician must possess to be successful.

Although PHMSA has never published the working group's guidance as official policy, regulators are referencing it when questions of coverage arise. Accordingly, companies conducting midstream processing operations should regard that guidance as important to understanding when PSM applies, and does not apply, to their assets.

As the largest three-service municipal utility in the United States, Memphis Light, Gas and Water faces a myriad of repair and maintenance decisions. Among its chief concerns is the safety of its gas distribution system, particularly the 330 miles of cast-iron gas mains it began replacing in 1992 as part of a $100 million program.

For decades, collecting, evaluating and maintaining data has been done with old-school tools and methods that make data acquisition expensive. Thanks to smartphones, tablets and the cloud, some pipeline services companies are finding there are better methods available.

Nigeria has announced progress on a key gas pipeline project that is seen as part of the country’s difficult balancing act between increasing natural gas production to 11,000 MMcf/d by the end of 2018 and creating adequate domestic demand to consume the increased volumes.

By the end of 2018, if all of the new natural gas pipeline projects start service on schedule, more than 23 Bcf/d of takeaway capacity will be online out of the Northeast - triple the capacity of only four years ago.

Pipeline pigging is an important part of ensuring reliable pipelines and, when done as part of a larger maintenance program, can significantly reduce the risk of line failure and downtime. This process, however, can be costly and time consuming with traditional pigging equipment.

The old rules no longer apply when it comes to determining the value of property and negotiating right-of-way agreements, as enlightened landowners are demanding and getting more lucrative contracts.

When everyone in your operation has data properly contextualized for their role, there is a significant impact on each person’s ability to determine what actions are required. When this happens in real-time, decisions can be made now vs. reactively making decisions after events have passed.

Energy demand and regulatory conditions are driving refineries to enhance their ability to process sour and heavy crude and produce higher-value middle distillates and end products. With this comes the necessity of heat tracing system.

The Bakken was strewn with casualties before the turnaround, but billionaire oil pioneer Harold Hamm and his teams at Continental Energy Resources Corp. saw opportunities to create better mousetraps in exploring and producing oil and natural gas.

An interview with Tom Martin, president of the Natural Gas Pipelines Group for Kinder Morgan, one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. Martin is responsible for all commercial and operational activities of a system that includes 70,000 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines and gathering lines, plus storage, treating and processing facilities.

But from a national interest, economic, humanitarian, and even environmental standpoint, there is a strong case for Canadian pipelines. This includes establishing a natural-gas export corridor from Prince George to Prince Rupert, completing the Trans Mountain loop and Keystone expansion, and freezing future pipeline development. The world will thank Canada for it.

Energy services company Proserv opened its new Centre of Excellence in Great Yarmouth’s Beacon Park in the United Kingdom.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) was awarded two contracts, totaling $1.2 million, from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance turbine technology for power plants.

The Rotork Electronic Line Break (ELB) is a self-contained system that continuously monitors pipeline pressure dynamics to provide early detection of pipeline breaks and initiate automatic valve actuator movement to a pre-selected emergency position.

Elsyca V-PIMS is a graphical simulation platform for the integrity management of pipeline networks with respect to external corrosion. The platform simulates and visualizes the CP health status of the entire network based on known design information.

The Thermo Scientific AutoXP flow computer incorporates the functionality of a smart multi-variable transmitter in a single unit to simplify the generation, management and interpretation gas and liquids flow data in harsh operating environments.

The SPM® QEM 3000 Frac Pump was designed to withstand the most punishing pressure pumping operations, including continuous duty at a sustained maximum 275,000-pound rod load.

Siemens has partnered with Newgate Instruments to introduce the JT400 Multivariable Gas Transmitter (MVG), an ultra-low power device custom-tailored for midstream and upstream gas production.

Honeywell's hands-free, wearable, connected plant technology features a head-mounted visual display that responds to voice and brings live data, documents, work procedures and health and safety information into view.

Polyguard Products introduced the RD-6® UVO overcoat, a single component, low VOC UV resistant, water-based liquid coating that protects Polyguard’s RD-6® anti-corrosion coating from damaging UV light rays when used for above-ground pipeline field joint girth welds, valves, fittings, and FBE coated pipe.

Larson Electronics released an explosion-proof hydrocarbon gas sensor with a Class I, Division 1 and 2 (Groups B, C, D) rating for combustible environments. The device is used to test and monitor levels of toxic gas in the air.

Andax released the Xtreme Shell® Pipe Flange Containment System, a patented, reusable, hard-containment shell designed to enclose a pipe flange, manifold or any other leak point.

Matrox® Imaging is introducing series of updates to the Matrox Supersight Solo high-performance computing (HPC) platform, including a new system host board (SHB) that improves computing performance.

Ardco’s next-generation articulating multi-purpose truck (AMT) features a modular back-end platform that offers the flexibility to customize the vehicle with a wide array of standard and customizable attachments.

The Ergo-PWPL-750 powered drum handling transport from Liftomatic Material Handling is a self-contained unit that engages, lifts, lowers and moves all steel, plastic and fiber drums.